Sick Days
by seaweedfma
Summary: Ed is sick, and Al is away, so Roy goes to check on him in the military dorms. Roy Mustang, Edward Elric, no pairing. Rated K. Nothing bad. A parental!Roy fic. No real spoilers, slight mention of Roy's dealings with the Rockbells first anime .


This was done for LJ group: GenChallenge a while go, but I guess I never posted it, so I am posting it now.. oops.. :)

Title: Sick Days  
Author/Artist: seaweed Otter  
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist  
Characters: Edward Elric, Roy Mustang  
Rating: G - PG  
Prompt: A lazy domestic afternoon. Ed and any other character of choice.  
Disclaimer: It's more of a paternal!Roy fic. :)  
Warnings: None really. Slight mention of Roy in Ishbal and the Rockbells, so maybe a slight spoiler?

These were the kind of days that Roy Mustang loved. Sundays were his days off. He didn't have to worry about Hawkeye hovering over him, gun drawn, to make sure that he got his work done. He could sleep as late as he wanted, lounge around his small house with as much, or as little on as he wished, and he didn't have to worry about being ROY MUSTANG- hero of the people, Flame Alchemist. He could just relax and be himself.

So he wondered, that one particular Sunday, how he had been roped into spending the afternoon with Edward Elric. Al was back in Risembool, he had to tend to something dealing with the Rockbell girl. Roy never liked dealing with her any more than he had to. Just looking into her face brought back flashes of Ishbal, and the horrors that he had committed in the name of his country.

Roy knocked on the door of the military dorm that Ed and Al had lived in for the last three years. Even though they had traveled a lot, he was still taken aback when Ed opened the door at how sparse the place was. After living there that long, one would think that there would be pictures on the white cinder block walls, and large collections of knick-knacks from the various places that they had visited.

But it looked more like someone had just moved in. In fact, there were still small boxes dotting the small room, where they hadn't even unpacked the few things that they had brought with them. Indeed, neither of the boys had ever put too much stock in material items- very unusual for boys their age.

But they were unlike boys their age in almost every way imaginable.

When Ed opened the door, he crossed his arms, flashing a death look at the raven haired man. "I never asked for you to baby-sit me. I don't need it. I have been traveling with my brother around the country since we were twelve. I don't need this."

As much as Roy wanted to believe him, the way Ed looked belayed his grumpy countenance. Whatever bug he had contracted had left him weak. After answering the door he immediately took a seat in one of the small, uncomfortable chairs that had come with the room. He was paler than usual, his eyes were bloodshot and sunken in, and he despite having a blanket curled around him, he shivered like he had just been standing naked in a snow drift.

"I appreciate your honesty at wanting to see me, Fullmetal, but you are sick. And Al isn't here to take care of you. So I am here to make sure you get better. Nothing more. Hate me if you want, but I'm not leaving."

Ed harrumphed, but didn't say anything else. He was too tired to try to fight the Colonel. Roy smiled and walked over to the small kitchenette that was attached to the one room dorm. "You think you can keep some chicken soup down, Fullmetal?" he asked.

No answer.

"Edward. Do you want some soup?"

Still no answer. Roy frowned and turned back towards the main room, annoyed. "Look, Fullmetal. I know you aren't thrilled with me being here. If you want me to be honest, I can think of much better ways to spend my Sunday as well. But that doesn't change the fact that I'm here, and if you want me to make you soup, you better tell me now- or you aren't getting any food for the rest of the day!"

Ed grumbled, looking down at his feet, as if they would give him an answer. They didn't and he finally mumbled "Fine, bastard. Gimme some soup."

Roy's face turned up into a smirk. "Good. Give me a few minutes to get it ready."

Ed mumbled some reply that may or may not have been actual words, but Roy didn't pay it any attention. He went rooting around the ill-stocked kitchen, trying to get together enough ingredients for even a rudimentary chicken soup.

"Don't you have any sort of food, Fullmetal?"

"We are hardly here, Colonel Bastard. Why would we waste food when we hardly even eat? Al only cooks for one."

Roy smiled. "When he cooks for you, he is cooking for ten. I have seen you eat."

"WHO YOU CALLING A BOTTOMLESS PIT?!"

"I never said that, Ed. And it is nice to see that at least you have enough energy to get mad at me."

"It doesn't take much with you, Colonel Sarcasm." Ed tried to stand up, but the room started to spin. He sat back down heavily in the same chair.

"Just relax. This will be done soon. And after you eat it, maybe you can try to take a nap."

"Yes, mommy." Ed muttered under his voice, closing his eyes to try to stop the room from moving around.

"Ed. Ed. Wake up." He was vaguely aware of someone gently tugging at his shoulder. Sleep felt so good, for a moment his body resisted the urge to wake up from whatever vague and incomprehensible dream that he had been having. But the voice grew louder, and the shaking harder. Reluctantly, he opened his eyes. "Hmm... wha?" He blinked a couple of times, waiting for his eyes to finish focusing through his sleepy haze. "Colonel?" Ed rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and looked around the room.

Hadn't he just closed his eyes a few seconds ago? Then why was the room much darker? He looked out the lone window and saw the sun starting to set on the horizon. "Wha' time is it?"

"It is past 1800 hours. You nodded off for a while, and I didn't want to wake you. I'll go warm the soup back up, if you still want it."

As much as Ed wanted to be upset with the Colonel, he had been unusually nice for the most part, and he did feel a slight bit better after that nap. He bit back the comment he was going to make and mumbled a "Yes, thanks." so softly the older alchemist almost couldn't hear it. Roy didn't try to hide the broad smile that came to his face.

A few minutes later, the newly heated bowl of soup was carted over by Roy. Ed took it, glad for the heat coming off the bowl. It warmed him better than the flimsy militarily supplied blanket had been doing throughout the day. "Thanks."

He didn't even wait for a response before tucking into the soup with the gusto that Roy had seen him take many a time when they had been forced to eat together.

He smiled and took a seat close by, at an equally uncomfortable seat and watched the boy- no, young man slurping at the soup. He wondered for a moment if the young alchemist was even tasting his food, or if he was just shoveling it into his mouth so fast that it was going straight down his gullet.

It didn't take long for Ed to finish the soup, bringing the bowl up to his lips and slurping loudly, splashing small drops onto his cheeks, which he promptly wiped off with the back of his hand. He put the bowl down with a satisfied "Ah." and a broad smile.

"I guess you enjoyed it then, Fullmetal?" Roy grinned. He stood and took the bowl to the sink, leaving it to soak for a while.

"Yeah." He stretched and yawned. "I shouldn't feel tired, but I feel like I could go right back to sleep."

"That is a good sign. Your body wants to heal. Head to bed. I will clean the dishes and come visit tomorrow to see if you are feeling any better after work. Al should be back in a few days."

Ed wanted to argue, but his body was too tired to fight back. He got up and walked carefully over to his bed, using the various small furnishings to make sure that he didn't fall over. Ed collapsed in his bed, almost asleep before his head hit the pillow.

Roy smiled and walked over, gently putting the thin blanket over the already snoring boy. He went over to the sink and cleaned the bowl he made the soup in, the bowl that Ed ate out of, and his spoon. He dried them off, then turned off the lights behind him as he left.

"Sleep well, Fullmetal."


End file.
